Broadway Damage (1997)

reviewed by
Harvey S. Karten


BROADWAY DAMAGE    
 Reviewed by Harvey Karten, Ph.D.
 Jour de Fete Films
 Director: Victor Mignatti
 Writer: Victor Mignatti
 Cast:Mara Hobel, Michael Shawn Lucas, Hugh Panaro,
Aaron Williams.

Toward the end of this picture, Cynthia (Mara Hobel), a young, would-be journalist who is rooming in Greenwich Village with recent college graduates, has a breakdown. "I want to go home," she wails-- which is no wonder considering that her parents live in Long Island palatial splendor while she walks up half a dozen flights of stairs. Now, there's nothing wrong with "Broadway Damage" that an adjustment in timing could not fix. Simply have Cynthia articulate her magic words at the very beginning, send her packing, and concentrate for the next 100 minutes on the other characters. "Broadway Bound" is not likely to be considered even by its writer-director, Victor Mignati, to be a major offering, but without its lead female it might have redeeming albeit modest virtues. But the obese Ms. Hobel, who hardly has a smidgen of the comic sensibility of a Bette Midler, a Chuck Farley or a Roseanne, is difficult to watch, given her charmlessness and the character she portrays--a shopaholic sponging on her daddy's credit cards who is apparently too exalted to do wash her own dishes. Though some of her problems are resolved during the course of the story, a typical patron in the audience could hardly care.

Might we care about the others in the cast? Perhaps. But Marc (Michael Shawn Lucas), Robert (Aaron Williams) and David (Hugh Panaro) are too wet behind the ears, too lacking in mature qualities at this stage of their lives to warrant concern or empathy--though, heaven knows, no critic can speak for all or even necessarily a large segment of the audience.

This sentimental little romantic comedy could have been inspired by that mushy song, "The Boy Next Door"-- from Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane's song for the 1960 musical "Meet Me in St. Louis," the first two lines of which is "How Can I Ignore/ The Boy Next Door." The handsome, struggling actor Marc seeks stable lovers everywhere but in his own apartment, drooling over David, the musician he spots in the flat just below his. Little does he realize that his own roommate Robert, a writer of musical comedy tunes, is ga ga for him, but is simply too shy to confess his love. Oh, yes, "Broadway Damage" is of the gay genre, featuring a few "in" jokes which, judging by a recent critics' screening, just might be appreciated by one portion of its audience while unlikely to possess crossover appeal.

Director Magnatti's cameraman, Michael Mayers, takes his camera inside an actual building in Greenwich Village and to various areas around Manhattan including Central Park, the blocks surrounding the Empire State Building, Bloomingdale's, and other on-site areas exploiting 16mm lensing. And while it's good to see the Big Apple increasingly used as locales by the movie industry, it's sad to report that this trivial story is lacking in genuine humor, wit and originality. Marc meets David, is disappointed, takes a couple of auditions, is discouraged. Cynthia seeks an interview with high-profile magazine editor Tina Brown, is disheartened when her calls are not returned, continues to bomb Ms. Brown's office with resumes and ultimately a catchy collage, is dismayed. David has a relationship with Chuck (Jonathan Walker), the relationship goes awry, he's discouraged, he can't pay the rent, he becomes downright melancholy. What this means in the tradition of formulaic writing is: Resolution is on its way.

When you consider that Marc is an actor and Robert a writer of musical comedies, you might be surprised that the Broadway of the title is woefully underutilized, coming to the fore in spots, as when Marc auditions, and even here, unconvincingly. Not Rated. Running time: 109 minutes. (C) Harvey Karten 1998


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